A COURSE IN MIRACLES

Do you not see that all your misery comes from the strange belief that you are powerless? ²Being helpless is the cost of sin. ³Helplessness is sin’s condition; the one requirement that it [sin] demands to be believed. ⁴Only the helpless could believe in it [sin]. ⁵Enormity has no appeal save to the little. ⁶And only those who first believe that they are little could see attraction there [in sin]. ⁷Treachery to the Son of God is the defense of those who do not identify with him [the Son of God]. ⁸And you are for him [the Son of God] or against him [the Son of God]; either you love him [the Son of God] or attack him [the Son of God], protect his [the-Son-of-God’s] unity or see him [the Son of God] shattered and slain by your attack.

Believing in sin is a statement that you are powerless.

No one believes the Son of God is powerless. ²And those who see themselves as helpless must believe that they [the helpless] are not the Son of God. ³What can they [the helpless] be except his [the-Son-of-God’s] enemy? ⁴And what can they [the ] do but envy him [the-Son-of-God] his [the-Son-of-God’s] power, and by their [the-helpless’s] envy make themselves afraid of it [the-Son-of-God’s power]? ⁵These [the helpless] are the dark ones, silent and afraid, alone and not communicating, fearful the power of the Son of God will strike them [the helpless] dead, and raising up their [the-helpless’s] helplessness against him [the Son of God]. ⁶They [the helpless] join the army of the powerless, to wage their [the-helpless’s] war of vengeance, bitterness and spite on him [the Son of God], to make him [the Son of God] one with them [the-helpless’s]. ⁷Because they [the helpless] do not know that they [the helpless] are one with him [the Son of God], they [the helpless] know not whom they [the helpless] hate. ⁸They [the helpless] are indeed a sorry army, each one as likely to attack his [helpless-one’s] brother or turn upon himself [helpless-one’s-self] as to remember that they [the helpless ones] thought they [the helpless ones] had a common cause.

To think you are powerless is to think you are not the Son of God. And then you will envy and fear and hate and attack the Son of God.

Frantic and loud and strong the dark ones seem to be. ²Yet they [the dark ones] know not their [the-dark-ones’] “enemy”, except they hate him [their enemy]. ³In hatred they [the dark ones] have come together, but have not joined each other. ⁴For had they [the dark ones] done so [joined each other] hatred would be impossible. ⁵The army of the powerless must be disbanded in the presence of strength. ⁶Those who are strong are never treacherous, because they [the strong ones] have no need to dream of power and to act out their [the-strong-ones’] dream. ⁷How would an army act in dreams? ⁸Any way at all. ⁹It could be seen attacking anyone with anything. ¹⁰Dreams have no reason in them [dreams]. ¹¹A flower turns into a poisoned spear, a child becomes a giant and a mouse roars like a lion. ¹²And love is turned to hate as easily. ¹³This is no army, but a madhouse. ¹⁴What seems to be a planned attack is bedlam.

Those who think they are powerless come together in hate to attack. A person with power does not need to their power out. Attack can only happen in dreams where nothing makes sense.

The army of the powerless is weak indeed. ²It [the army of the powerless] has no weapons and it [the army of the powerless] has no enemy. ³Yes, it [the army of the powerless] can overrun the world and seek an enemy. ⁴But it [the army of the powerless] can never find what is not there. ⁵Yes, it [the army of the powerless] can dream it [the army of the powerless] found an enemy, but this [the enemy found in a dream] will shift even as it [the army of the powerless] attacks, so that it [the army of the powerless] runs at once to find another [enemy], and never comes to rest in victory. ⁶And as it [the army of the powerless] runs it [the army of the powerless] turns against itself [the-army-of-the-powerless’s self], thinking it [the army of the powerless] caught a glimpse of the great enemy who always eludes its [the-army-of-the-powerless’s] murderous attack by turning into something else. ⁷How treacherous does this enemy appear, who changes so it is impossible even to recognize him [the enemy].

The powerless find an enemy in a dream, but the enemy keeps on changing. So the powerless keep looking for new enemies and can never win. The enemy can never even be recognised properly

Yet hate must have a target. ²There can be no faith in sin without an enemy. ³Who that believes in sin would dare believe he [a believer in sin] has no enemy? ⁴Could he [a believer in sin] admit that no one made him [a believer in sin] powerless? ⁵Reason would surely bid him [a believer in sin] seek no longer what is not there to find. ⁶Yet first he [a believer in sin] must be willing to perceive a world where it [sin] is not. ⁷It is not necessary that he [a believer in sin] understand how he can see it [a world without sin]. ⁸Nor should he [a believer in sin] try [to see a world without sin]. ⁹For if he [a believer in sin] focuses on what he [a believer in sin] cannot understand, he [a believer in sin] will but emphasize his [a-believer-in-sin’s] helplessness, and let sin tell him [a believer in sin] that his [a-believer-in-sin’s] enemy must be himself [a-believer-in-sin’s self]. ¹⁰But let him [a believer in sin] only ask himself these questions, which he [a believer in sin] must decide, to have it done for him [a believer in sin]:

¹¹Do I desire a world I rule instead of one [a world] that rules me?
¹²Do I desire a world where I am powerful instead of helpless?
¹³Do I desire a world in which I have no enemies and cannot sin?
¹⁴And do I want to see what I denied because it [what I denied] is the truth?

If you believe in sin you will always believe you have enemies. Be willing to perceive a world without sin. Ask yourself what type of world you would like to see.

You may already have answered the first three questions, but not yet the last [question]. ²For this one [the last question] still seems fearful, and unlike the others [questions]. ³Yet reason would assure you they [the questions] are all the same. ⁴We said this year would emphasize the sameness of things that are the same. ⁵This final question, which is indeed the last [question] you need decide, still seems to hold a threat the rest [the first three questions] have lost for you. ⁶And this imagined difference attests to your belief that truth may be the enemy you yet may find. ⁷Here, then, would seem to be the last remaining hope of finding sin, and not accepting power.

It’s hard to admit you were wrong.

Forget not that the choice of sin or truth, helplessness or power, is the choice of whether to attack or heal. ²For healing comes of power, and attack [comes] of helplessness. ³Whom you attack you cannot want to heal. ⁴And whom you would have healed must be the one you chose to be protected from attack. ⁵And what is this decision [attack or healing] but the choice whether to see him [someone you can either attack or heal] through the body’s eyes, or let him be revealed to you through vision? ⁶How this decision [attack or healing] leads to its [decision’s] effects is not your problem. ⁷But what you want to see must be your choice. ⁸This is a course in cause and not effect.

You can choose to either attack or heal, which depends on whether you choose to a see a person with the body’s eyes or with real vision. You decide what you want to see.

Consider carefully your answer to the last question [Do I want to see what I denied because it it is the truth?] you have left unanswered still. ²And let your reason tell you that it [the last question] must be answered, and is answered in the other three [questions]. ³And then it will be clear to you that, as you look on the effects of sin in any form, all you need do is simply ask yourself:

⁴Is this [the effects of sin] what I would see? ⁵Do I want this [to see the effects of sin]?

Consider carefully your answer to the last question, do I want to see what I denied because it it is the truth? This question you have left unanswered still. ²And let your reason tell you that the last question must be answered, and is answered in the other three questions. ³And then it will be clear to you that, as you look on the effects of sin in any form, all you need do is simply ask yourself:

⁴Is the effects of sin what I would see? ⁵Do I want to see the effects of sin]?

You denied truth and saw the effects of sin instead. If you are willing to see a world you rule, a world where you are powerful, a world where you have no enemies, a world where you cannot sin — then you only need to stop denying the truth.

This [choosing to see the truth] is your one decision; this [choosing to see the truth is] the condition for what occurs. ²It [the decision] is irrelevant to how it [what occurs] happens, but not to why [it happens]. ³You have control of this [what occurs]. ⁴And if you choose to see a world without an enemy, in which you are not helpless, the means to see it [a world without an enemy] will be given you.

Choosing to see the truth is your one decision; choosing to see the truth is the condition for what occurs. ²The decision is irrelevant to how what occurs happens, but not to why it happens. ³You have control of what occurs. ⁴And if you choose to see a world without an enemy, in which you are not helpless, the means to see a world without an enemy will be given you.

It is up to you to choose what kind of world you want, and what occurs in that world. The means for seeing a world with no enemies and in which you are powerful, will be given you.

Why is the final question so important? ²Reason will tell you why. ³It [the final question] is the same as are the other three [questions], except in time. ⁴The others [questions] are decisions that can be made, and then unmade and made again. ⁵But truth is constant, and implies a state where vacillations are impossible. ⁶You can desire a world you rule that rules you not, and change your mind. ⁷You can desire to exchange your helplessness for power, and lose this same desire as a little glint of sin attracts you. ⁸And you can want to see a sinless world, and let an “enemy” tempt you to use the body’s eyes and change what you desire.

Why is the final question so important? ²Reason will tell you why. ³The final question is the same as are the other three questions, except in time. ⁴The other questions are decisions that can be made, and then unmade and made again. ⁵But truth is constant, and implies a state where vacillations are impossible. ⁶You can desire a world you rule that rules you not, and change your mind. ⁷You can desire to exchange your helplessness for power, and lose this same desire as a little glint of sin attracts you. ⁸And you can want to see a sinless world, and let an “enemy” tempt you to use the body’s eyes and change what you desire.

Desires are decisions that you can make and unmake over and over.

In content all the questions are the same. ²For each one [question] asks if you are willing to exchange the world of sin for what the Holy Spirit sees, since it is this [what the Holy Spirit sees] the world of sin denies. ³And therefore those who look on sin are seeing the denial of the real world. ⁴Yet the last question adds the wish for constancy in your desire to see the real world, so the desire becomes the only one [desire] you have. ⁵By answering the final question “yes”, you add sincerity to the decisions you have already made to all the rest [of the decisions]. ⁶For only then [when answering the final question “yes”] have you renounced the option to change your mind again. ⁷When it is this [seeing the world of sin] you do not want, the rest [of the questions] are wholly answered.

In content all the questions are the same. ²For each question asks if you are willing to exchange the world of sin for what the Holy Spirit sees, since it is what the Holy Spirit sees the world of sin denies. ³And therefore those who look on sin are seeing the denial of the real world. ⁴Yet the last question adds the wish for constancy in your desire to see the real world, so the desire becomes the only desire you have. ⁵By answering the final question “yes”, you add sincerity to the decisions you have already made to all the rest of the decisions. ⁶For only when answering the final question “yes” have you renounced the option to change your mind again. ⁷When seeing the world of sin is what you do not want, the rest of the questions are wholly answered.

Instead of thinking about aspects of the real world you desire, focus on answering whether or not you want to see the real world the Holy Spirit sees.

Why do you think you are unsure the others [questions] have been answered? ²Could it be necessary they [the other questions] be asked so often, if they [the other questions] had been answered? ³Until the last decision has been made, the answer is both “yes” and “no”. ⁴For you have answered “yes” without perceiving that “yes” must mean “not no”. ⁵No one decides against his happiness, but he may do so [decide against his happiness] if he does not see he does it [decides against his happiness]. ⁶And if he sees his happiness as ever changing, now this, now that, and now an elusive shadow attached to nothing, he does decide against it [his happiness].

Why do you think you are unsure the other questions have been answered? ²Could it be necessary the other questions be asked so often, if the other questions had been answered? ³Until the last decision has been made, the answer is both “yes” and “no”. ⁴For you have answered “yes” without perceiving that “yes” must mean “not no”. ⁵No one decides against his happiness, but he may decide against his happiness if he does not see he decides against his happiness. ⁶And if he sees his happiness as ever changing, now this, now that, and now an elusive shadow attached to nothing, he does decide against his happiness.

Your happiness does not change depending on circumstances. So you can say yes to wanting to see the truth. To truly say yes means to no longer be able to say no. Once you truly say yes, there is no need to ask the question over and over.

Elusive happiness, or happiness in changing form that shifts with time and place, is an illusion that has no meaning. ²Happiness must be constant, because it [happiness ] is attained by giving up the wish for the inconstant. ³Joy cannot be perceived except through constant vision. ⁴And constant vision can be given only those who wish for constancy. ⁵The power of the Son of God’s desire remains the proof that he [a person] is wrong who sees himself [person’s-self] as helpless. ⁶Desire what you want, and you will look on it [what you want] and think it [what you want] real. ⁷No thought but [every thought] has the power to release or kill. ⁸And none [thoughts] can leave the thinker’s mind, or leave him [the thinker] unaffected.

Elusive happiness, or happiness in changing form that shifts with time and place, is an illusion that has no meaning. ²Happiness must be constant, because happiness is attained by giving up the wish for the inconstant. ³Joy cannot be perceived except through constant vision. ⁴And constant vision can be given only those who wish for constancy. ⁵The power of the Son of God’s desire remains the proof that a person is wrong who sees a-persons’s-self as helpless. ⁶Desire what you want, and you will look on what you want and think what you want real. ⁷Every thought has the power to release or kill. ⁸And no thoughts can leave the thinker’s mind, or leave the thinker unaffected.

Happiness is elusive when it seems to change forms, but happiness does not change form. Happiness is giving up what is inconstant (that is, giving up what changes form). You need to desire constancy. What you desire you make real for you. Every thought you have affects you in some way.